may be, as she says, the "God's truth;" at any rate it bears the ear-marks
of the Blavatsky style about it. The disciples of the High Priestess of
Isis have bitterly denounced Solovyoff and the revelations contained in
his book. They brand him as a coward for not having published his diatribe
during the lifetime of the Madame, when she was able to defend herself.
However that may be, Solovyoff's exposures tally very well with the mass
of corroborative evidence adduced by Hodgson, Coues, Coleman, and a host
of writers, who began their attacks during the earthly pilgrimage of the
great Sibyl.
On receipt of this letter, Feb 16, 1886, Solovyoff resigned from the
Theosophical Society. He denounced the High Priestess to the Paris
Theosophists, and the Blavatsky lodges in that city were disrupted in
consequence of the exposures. This seems to be a convincing proof of the
genuineness of his revelations. After the Solovyoff incident, Madame
Blavatsky went into retirement for a while. Eventually she appeared in
London as full of enthusiasm as ever and added to her list of converts the
Countess of Caithness and Mrs. Annie Besant, the famous socialist and
authoress.
Finally came the last act of this strange life-drama. That messenger of
death, whom the mystical Persian singer, Omar Khayyam, calls "The Angel of
the Darker Drink," held to her lips the inevitable chalice of Mortality;
then the "golden cord was loosened and the silver bowl was broken," and
she passed into the land of shadows. It was in London, May 8, 1891, that
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky ended one of the strangest careers on record.
She died calmly and peacefully in her bed, surrounded by her friends, and
after her demise her body was cremated by her disciples, with occult rites
and ceremonies. All that remained of her--a few handfuls of powdery white
ashes--was gathered together, and divided into three equal parts. One
portion was buried in London, one sent to New York City, and the third to
Adyar, near Madras, India. The New World, the Old World, and the still
Older World of the East were honored with the ashes of H. P. B. Three
civilizations, three heaps of ashes, three initials--mystic number from
time immemorial, celebrated symbol of Divinity known to, and revered by,
Cabalists, Gnostics, Rosicrucians, and Theosophists.
Mr. J. Ransom Bridges, who had considerable correspondence with the High
Priestess from 1888 until her death, says (_Arena_, April, 1895):
"Whatever may be the ultimate verdict upon the life and work of this
woman, her place in history will be unique. There was a Titanic display of
strength in everything she did. The storms that raged in her were
cyclones. Those exposed to them often felt with Solovyoff that if there
were holy and sage _Mahatmas_, they could not remain holy and sage, and
have anything to do with Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. The 'confession' she
wrote rings with the mingled curses and mad laughter of a crazy mariner
scuttling his own ship. Yet she could be as tender and sympathetic as any
mother. Her mastery of some natures seemed complete; and these people she
worked like galley-slaves in the Theosophical tread mill of her propaganda
movement.
"To these disciples she was the greatest thaumaturgist known to the world
since the days of the Christ. The attacks upon her, the Coulomb and
Solovyoff exposures, the continual newspaper calumnies they look upon as a
gigantic conspiracy brewed by all the rules of the black art to
counteract, and, if possible, to destroy the effect of her work and
mission."
"Requiescat in Pace," O Priestess of Isis, until your next incarnation on
Earth! The twentieth century will doubtless have need of your services!
For the delectation of the curious let me add: the English resting place
of Madame Blavatsky is designed after the model of an Oriental "dagoba,"
or tomb; the American shrine is a marble niche in the wall of the
Theosophical headquarters, No. 144 Madison avenue, the ashes reposing in a
vase standing in the niche behind a hermetically-sealed glass window. The
Oriental shrine in Adyar is a tomb modelled after the world-famous Taj
Mahal, and is built of pink sandstone, surmounted by a small Benares
copper spire.
4. The Writings of Madame Blavatsky.
Madame Blavatsky is known to the reading world as the writer of two
voluminous works of a philosophical or mystical character, explanatory of
the Esoteric Doctrine, viz., "Isis Unveiled," published in 1877, and the
"Secret Doctrine," published in 1888. In the composition of these works
she claimed that she was assisted by the Mahatmas who visited her
apartments when she was asleep, and wrote portions of the manuscripts with
their astral hands while their natural bodies reposed entranced in
Thibetan Lamaseries. These fictions were fostered by prominent members of
the Theosophical Society, and believed by many credulous persons. "Isis
Unveiled" is a hodge-podge of absurdities, pseudo-science, mythology and
folklore, arranged in helter-skelter fashion, with an utter disregard of
logical sequence. The fact was that Madame Blavatsky had a very imperfect
knowledge of English, and this may account for the strange mistakes in
which the volume abounds, despite the aid of the ghostly Mahatmas. William
Emmette Coleman, of San Francisco, has made an exhaustive analysis of the
Madame's writings, and declares that "Isis," and the "Secret Doctrine" are
full of plagiarisms. In "Isis" he discovered "some 2,000 passages copied
from other books without proper credit." Speaking of the "Secret
Doctrine," the master key to the wisdom of the ages, he says: "The
'Secret Doctrine' is ostensibly based upon certain stanzas, claimed to
have been translated by Madame Blavatsky from the 'Book of Dzyan'--the
oldest book in the world, written in a language unknown to philology. The
'Book of Dzyan' was the work of Madame Blavatsky--a compilation, in her
own language, from a variety of sources, embracing the general principles
of the doctrines and dogmas taught in the 'Secret Doctrine.' I find in
this 'oldest book in the world' statements copied from nineteenth century
books, and in the usual blundering manner of Madame Blavatsky. Letters and
other writings of the adepts are found in the 'Secret Doctrine.' In these
Mahatmic productions I have traced various plagiarized passages from
Wilson's 'Vishnu Purana,' and Winchell's 'World Life'--of like character
to those in Madame Blavatsky's acknowledged writings. * * * A specimen of
the wholesale plagiarisms in this book appears in vol. II., pp. 599-603.
Nearly the whole of four pages was copied from Oliver's 'Pythagorean
Triangle,' while only a few lines were credited to that work."
Those who are interested in Coleman's exposé are referred to Appendix C,
of Solovyoff's book, "A Modern Priestess of Isis." The title of this
appendix is "The Sources of Madame Blavatsky's Writings." Mr. Coleman is
at present engaged in the preparation of an elaborate work on the subject,
which will in addition contain an "exposé of Theosophy as a whole." It
will no doubt prove of interest to students of occultism.
5. Life and Death of a Famous Theosophist.
The funeral of Baron de Palm, conducted according to Theosophical rites,
is an interesting chapter in the history of the Society, and worth
relating.
Joseph Henry Louis Charles, Baron de Palm, Grand Cross Commander of the
Sovereign Order of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, and knight of various
orders, was born at Augsburg, May 10, 1809. He came to the United States
rather late in life, drifted West without any settled occupation, and
lived from hand to mouth in various Western cities. Finally he located in
New York City, broken in health and spirit. He was a man of considerable
culture and interested to a greater or less extent in the phenomena of
modern Spiritualism. A letter of introduction from the editor of the
_Religio-Philosophical Journal_, of Chicago, made him acquainted with
Col. Olcott, who introduced him to prominent members of the Theosophical
Society. He was elected a member of the Society, eventually becoming a
member of the Council. In the year 1875 he died, leaving behind an earnest
request that Col. Olcott "should perform the last offices in a fashion
that would illustrate the Eastern notions of death and immortality."[6] He
also left directions that his body should be cremated. A great deal of
excitement was caused over this affair in orthodox religious circles, and
public curiosity was aroused to the highest pitch. The funeral service
was, as Madame Blavatsky described it in a letter to a European
correspondent, "pagan, almost antique pagan." The ceremony was held in the
great hall of the Masonic Temple, corner of Twenty-third and Sixth avenue.
Tickets of admission were issued of decidedly occult shape--_triangular_;
some black, printed in silver; others drab, printed in black. A crowd of
2,000 people assembled to witness the obsequies. On the stage was a
_triangular_ altar, with a symbolical fire burning upon it. The coffin
stood near by, covered with the orders of knighthood of the deceased. A
splendid choir rendered several Orphic hymns composed for the occasion,
with organ accompaniment, and Col. Olcott, as Hierophant, made an
invocation or _mantram_ "to the Soul of the World whose breath gives and
withdraws the form of everything." Death is always solemn, and no subject
for levity, yet I must not leave out of this chronicle the unique
burlesque programme of Baron de Palm's funeral, published by the _New York
World_, the day before the event. Says the _World_:
"The procession will move in the following order:
"Col. Olcott as high priest, wearing a leopard skin and carrying a roll of
papyrus (brown card board).
"Mr. Cobb, as sacred scribe, with style and tablet.
"Egyptian mummy-case, borne upon a sledge drawn by four oxen. (Also a
slave bearing a pot of lubricating oil.)
"Madame Blavatsky as chief mourner and also bearer of the sistrum. (She
will wear a long linen garment extending to the feet, and a girdle about
the waist.)
"Colored boy carrying three Abyssinian geese (Philadelphia chickens) to
place upon the bier.
"Vice-President Felt, with the eye of Osiris painted on his left breast,
and carrying an asp (bought at a toy store on Eighth avenue.)
"Dr. Pancoast, singing an ancient Theban dirge:
"'Isis and Nepthys, beginning and end:
One more victim to Amenti we send.
Pay we the fare, and let us not tarry.
Cross the Styx by the Roosevelt street ferry.'"
"Slaves in mourning gowns, carrying the offerings and libations, to
consist of early potatoes, asparagus, roast beef, French pan-cakes,
bock-beer, and New Jersey cider.
"Treasurer Newton, as chief of the musicians, playing the double pipe.
"Other musicians performing on eight-stringed harps, tom-toms, etc.
"Boys carrying a large lotus (sunflower).
"Librarian Fassit, who will alternate with music by repeating the lines
beginning:
"'Here Horus comes, I see the boat.
Friends, stay your flowing tears;
The soul of man goes through a goat
In just 3,000 years.'
"At the temple the ceremony will be short and simple. The oxen will be
left standing on the sidewalk, with a boy near by to prevent them goring
the passers-by. Besides the Theurgic hymn, printed above in full, the
Coptic National anthem will be sung, translated and adapted to the
occasion as follows:
"Sitting Cynocephalus up in a tree,
I see you, and you see me.
River full of crocodile, see his long snout!
Hoist up the shadoof and pull him right out."
6. The Mantle of Madame Blavatsky.
After Madame Blavatsky's death, Mrs. Annie Besant assumed the leadership
of the Theosophical Society, and wore upon her finger a ring that belonged
to the High Priestess: a ring with a green stone flecked with veins of
blood red, upon the surface of which was engraved the interlaced triangles
within a circle, with the Indian motto, _Sat_ (Life), the symbol of
Theosophy. It was given to Madame Blavatsky by her Indian teacher, says
Mrs. Besant, and is very magnetic. The High Priestess on her deathbed
presented the mystic signet to her successor, and left her in addition
many valuable books and manuscripts. The Theosophical Society now numbers
its adherents by the thousands and has its lodges scattered over the
United States, France, England and India. At the World's Columbian
Exposition it was well represented in the Great Parliament of Religions,
by Annie Besant, William Q. Judge, of the American branch, and Prof.
Chakravatir, a High Caste Brahmin of India.
[Illustration: FIG. 38. PORTRAIT OF MRS. ANNIE BESANT.]
Mrs. Besant, in an interview published in the _New York World_, Dec. 11,
1892, made the following statement concerning Madame Blavatsky's peculiar
powers:
"One time she was trying to explain to me the control of the mind over
certain currents in the ether about us, and to illustrate she made some
little taps come on my own head. They were accompanied by the sensation
one experiences on touching an electric battery. I have frequently seen
her draw things to her simply by her will, without touching them. Indeed,
she would often check herself when strangers were about. It was natural
for her, when she wanted a book that was on the table, to simply draw it
to her by her power of mind, as it would be for you to reach out your hand
to pick it up. And so, as I say, she often had to check herself, for she
was decidedly adverse to making a show of her power. In fact, that is
contrary to the law of the brotherhood to which she belonged. This law
forbids them to make use of their power except as an instruction to their
pupils or as an aid to the spreading of the truth. An adept may never use
his knowledge for his personal advantage. He may be starving, and despite
his ability to materialize banquets he may not supply himself with a crust
of bread. This is what is meant in the Gospel when it says: 'He saved
others, Himself He cannot save.'
"One time she had written an article and as usual she gave me her
manuscript to look over.
"Sometimes she wrote very good grammatic English and again she wrote very
slovenly English. So she always had me go over her manuscript. In reading
this particular one I found a long quotation of some twenty or thirty
lines. When I finished it I went to her and said: 'Where in the world did
you get that quotation?'
"'I got it from an Indian newspaper of --,' naming the date.
"'But,' I said, 'that paper cannot be in this country yet! How did you get
hold of it?'
"'Oh, I got it, dear,' she said, with a little laugh; 'that's enough.'
"Of course I understood then. When the time came for the paper to arrive,
I thought I would verify her quotation, so I asked her for the name, the
date of the issue and the page on which the quotation would be found. She
told me, giving me, we will say, 45 as the number of the page. I went to
the agent, looked up the paper and there was no such quotation on page 45.
Then I remembered that things seen in the astral light are reversed, so I
turned the number around, looked on page 54 and there was the quotation.
When I went home I told her that it was all right, but that she had given
me the wrong page.
"'Very likely,' she said. 'Someone came in just as I was finishing it, and
I may have forgotten to reverse the number.'
"You see, anything seen in the astral light is reversed, as if you saw it
in a mirror, while anything seen clairvoyantly is straight."
The elevation of Mrs. Besant to the High Priestess-ship of the
Theosophical Society was in accord with the spirit of the age--an
acknowledgment of the Eternal Feminine; but it did not bring repose to the
organization. William Q. Judge, of the American branch, began dabbling, it
is claimed, in Mahatma messages on his own account, and charges were made
against him by Mrs. Besant. A bitter warfare was waged in Theosophical
journals, and finally the American branch of the general society seceded,
and organized itself into the American Theosophical Society. Judge was
made life-president and held the post until his death, in New York City,
March 21st, 1896. His body was cremated and the ashes sealed in an urn,
which was deposited in the Society's rooms, No. 144 Madison avenue.
Five weeks after the death of Judge, the Theosophical Society held its
annual conclave in New York City, and elected E. T. Hargrove as the
presiding genius of esoteric wisdom in the United States. It was
originally intended to hold this convention in Chicago, but the change was
made for a peculiar reason. As the press reported the circumstance, "it
was the result of a request by a mysterious adept whose existence had been
unsuspected, and who made known his wish in a communication to the
executive committee." It seems that the Theosophical Society is composed
of two bodies, the exoteric and the esoteric. The first holds open
meetings for the discussion of ethical and Theosophical subjects, and the
second meets privately, being composed of a secret body of adepts, learned
in occultism and possessing remarkable spiritual powers. The chief of the
secret order is appointed by the Mahatmas, on account, it is claimed, of
his or her occult development. Madame Blavatsky was the High Priestess in
this inner temple during her lifetime, and was succeeded by Hierophant W.
Q. Judge. When Judge died, it seems there was no one thoroughly qualified
to take his place as the head of the esoteric branch, until an examination
was made of his papers. Then came a surprise. Judge had named as his
successor a certain obscure individual whom he claimed to be a great
adept, requesting that the name be kept a profound secret for a specified
time. In obedience to this injunction, the Great Unknown was elected as
chief of the Inner Brother-and-Sisterhood. All of this made interesting
copy for the New York journalists, and columns were printed about the
affair. Another surprise came when the convention of exoterics
("hysterics," as some of the papers called them) subscribed $25,000 for
the founding of an occult temple in this country. But the greatest
surprise of all was a Theosophical wedding. The De Palm funeral fades away
into utter insignificance beside this mystic marriage. The contracting
parties were Claude Falls Wright, formerly secretary to Madame Blavatsky,
and Mary C. L. Leonard, daughter of Anna Byford Leonard, one of the best
known Theosophists in the West. The ceremony was performed at Aryan Hall,
No. 144 Madison avenue, N. Y., in the presence of the occult body.
Outsiders were not admitted. However, public curiosity was partly
gratified by sundry crumbs of information thrown out by the Theosophical
press bureau.
The young couple stood beneath a seven-pointed star, made of electric
light globes, and plighted their troth amid clouds of odoriferous incense.
Then followed weird chantings and music by an occult orchestra composed of
violins and violoncellos. The unknown adept presided over the affair, as
special envoy of the Mahatmas. He was enveloped from head to foot in a
thick white veil, said the papers.
Mr. Wright and his bride-elect declared solemnly that they remembered many
of their former incarnations; their marriage had really taken place in
Egypt, 5,000 years ago in one of the mysterious temples of that strange
country, and the ceremony had been performed by the priests of Isis. Yes,
they remembered it all! It seemed but as yesterday! They recalled with
vividness the scene: their march up the avenue of monoliths; the lotus
flowers strewn in their path by rosy children; the intoxicating perfume
of the incense, burned in bronze braziers by shaven-headed priests; the
hieroglyphics, emblematical of life, death and resurrection, painted upon
the temple walls; the Hierophant in his gorgeous vestments. Oh, what a
dream of Old World splendor and beauty!
Before many months had passed, the awful secret of the Veiled Adept's
identity was revealed. The Great Unknown turned out to be a _she_ instead
of a _he_ adept--a certain Mrs. Katherine Alice Tingley, of New York City.
The reporters began ringing the front door bell of the adept's house in
the vain hope of obtaining an interview, but the newly-hatched Sphinx
turned a deaf ear to their entreaties. The time was not yet ripe for
revelations. Her friends, however, rushed into print, and told the most
marvellous stories of her mediumship.
W. T. Stead, the English journalist and student of psychical research,
reviewing the Theosophical convention and its outcome, says (_Borderland_,
July, 1896, p. 306): "The Judgeite seceders from the Theosophical Society
held their annual convention in New York, April 26th to 27th. They have
elected a young man, Mr. Ernest T. Hargrove, as their president. A former
spiritual medium and clairvoyant, by name Katherine Alice Tingley, who
claims to have been bosom friends with H. P. B. 1200 years B. C., when
both were incarnated in Egypt, is, however, the grand Panjandrum of the
cause. Her first husband was a detective, her second is a clerk in the
White Lead Company's office in Brooklyn.
"According to Mr. Hargrove she is--'The new adept; she was appointed by
Mr. Judge, and we are going to sustain her, as we sustained him, for we
know her important connection in Egypt, Mexico and Europe.'"
In the spring of 1896, Mrs. Tingley, accompanied by a number of prominent
occultists, started on a crusade through the world to bring the truths of
Theosophy to the toiling millions. The crusaders before their departure
were presented with a purple silk banner, bearing the legend: "Truth,
Light, Liberation for Discouraged Humanity." The _New York Herald_ (Aug.
16, 1896) says of this crusade:
"When Mrs. Tingley and the other crusaders left this country nothing had
been heard of the claim of the reincarnated Blavatsky. Now, however, this
idea is boldly advanced in England by the American branch of the society
there, and in America by Burcham Harding, the acting head of the society
in this country. When Mr. Harding was seen at the Theosophical
headquarters, he said:
"'Yes, Mme. Blavatsky is reincarnated in Mrs. Tingley. She has not only
been recognized by myself and other members of the American branch of the
Theosophical Society, who knew H. P. B. in her former life, but the
striking physical and facial resemblance has also been noted by members of
the English branch.'
"But this recognition by the English members of the society does not seem
to be as strong as Mr. Harding would seem to have it understood. In fact,
there are a number of members of that branch who boldly declare that Mrs.
Tingley is an impostor. One of them, within the last week, addressing the
English members on the subject, claimed that Mme. Blavatsky had foreseen
that such an impostor would arise. He said:
"'When Mme. Blavatsky lived in her body among us, she declared to all her
disciples that, in her next reincarnation, she would inhabit the body of
an Eastern man, and she warned them to be on their guard against any
assertion made by mediums or others that they were controlled by her.
Whatever H. P. B. lacked, she never wanted emphasis, and no one who knew
anything of the founder of the Theosophical Society was left in any doubt
as to her views upon this question. She declared that if any persons,
after her death, should claim that she was speaking through them, her
friends might be quite sure that it was a lie. Imagine, then, the feelings
of H. P. B.'s disciples on being presented with an American clairvoyant
medium, in the shape of Mrs. Tingley, who is reported to claim that H. P.
B. is reincarnated in her.'
"The American branch of the society is not at all disturbed by this charge
of fraud by the English branch. In connection with it Mr. Harding says:
"'It is true that the American branch of the Theosophical Society has
seceded from the English branch, but as Mme. Blavatsky, the founder, was
in reality an American, it can be understood why we consider ourselves the
parent society.'